Low-paying jobs not spurring economy

WASHINGTON – The economy is getting stronger which could help to boost job growth, but there are some obstacles to overcome.

A few industries, such as health care and leisure and hospitality, have been leading others in the race to get the job market back on track. However, only having a few industries spearheading the initiative is not enough to jump-start employment, across the board.

“You have to get jobs in other areas, and those just aren’t coming,” says Danielle Kurzleben, a business and economics reporter for U.S. News & World Report.

Education also plays a role in the job market.

According to Kurzleben, those with less than a high school or college education are more likely to land lower paying jobs, which do not help to boost the nation’s spending-driven economy.

“The problem with all of those low-paying jobs is that spending drives economic growth in our country to a big degree,” says Kurzleben.

“So if you’re not getting a big paycheck, you’re not spending, which means you’re not going down to the store, which means the store is not going to hire more clerks. It’s a big cycle and it reaches out into all sorts of other industries.”

Kurzleben also says that current wages have dropped, and are now about where they used to be in 2005 and 2006.

WTOP’s Veronica Robinson contributed to this report. Follow VRobWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.